Seen as Face of Global Far-Right Extremism, Trump State Visit to UK Spurs Call for Mass Protest

The Baby Trump Balloon floats in the middle of crowds holding anti-Trump signs while the U.S. President is visiting Trump Turnberry Luxury Collection Resort in Scotland as people gather to protest during his visit to the United Kingdom on July 14, 2018. (Photo: Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

In response to news that U.S. President Donald Trump will be welcomed for a formal state visit to the United Kingdom in June, British progressives on Tuesday vowed to take to the streets to give the man they consider a leader of the global far-right the unwelcome greeting he has earned.

The trip will mark Trump's first state trip to the U.K.

"A formal state visit to Britain in June must be met with widespread opposition," Sabby Dhalu of the U.K.-based group Stand Up to Trump said in a statement. "All those that value peace and hope for a better world for the many must take to the streets and say clearly that Donald Trump is not welcome here!"

"Trump is a racist, a misogynist, and a climate change denier who threatens minorities at home while pushing for war abroad." —Stop the War Coalition

The U.K.-based Stop Trump Coalition and other groups behind last year's demonstrations set up a Facebook event page to organize ahead of the June visit.

"This demonstration isn't just about Trump as one man," the event announcement said. "He is a symbol of the new far-right, a politics of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, of war and conflict, and walls and fences that are growing around the world."

This is not a drill!

Donald Trump is coming to Britain on a state visit on 4th June 2019.

We have to march in huge numbers against his racism, misogyny, transphobia, and the threat he poses to the planet.

In a statement, the U.K.-based Stop the War Coalition said it is "extraordinary that the British government has chosen to endorse this most reactionary and aggressive U.S. president with a formal welcome."

"Trump is a racist, a misogynist, and a climate change denier who threatens minorities at home while pushing for war abroad," the group said. "He has escalated the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, stepped up support for Saudi Arabia as it leads the murderous war on Yemen, and encouraged growing Israeli attacks on the Palestinians. He has threatened Venezuela with intervention and backed right-wing regimes around the world."

Labour MPs also expressed opposition to Trump's visit and slammed U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May for welcoming the president with open arms.

"Deluded, dishonest, xenophobic, narcissistic, Donald Trump is no friend of Britain," tweeted Labour MP David Lammy. "He is not fit to hold public office, let alone worthy of our country's highest honors and a banquet with the Queen. Theresa May is selling out the U.K. to a serial liar and a cheat."

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A belated, heartfelt happy birthday to Harvey Milk, assassinated in 1978 for daring to come out of the closet, be himself and insist on his rights, who would have turned 89 this week. On Harvey Milk Day, California passed a resolution honoring his "critical role in creating the modern LGBT movement." From one ally: "He imagined a righteous world inside his head and then he set about to create it." These dark days, his message resonates more than ever: "You stand up and fight."

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